Friday, August 18, 2006

Before playing a single chord, Rancid was in complete control of the crowd at the Black Cat on Wednesday night. Chants of "Ran-cid! Ran-cid!" greeted the veteran Bay Area punk quartet as it took the stage for the first of three consecutive sold-out shows, and the group proceeded to whip its devoted fans into a frenzy that lasted the entirety of a 70-minute set that was heavy on the band's early material.

"Journey to the End of the East Bay," from 1995's career-defining album ". . . And Out Come the Wolves," kicked off the performance, and fists were pumping and bodies jumping from the onset. As virtually the entire audience shouted along with the chorus, singer-guitarist Tim Armstrong, wearing his trademark derby hat and leather jacket, stood on a monitor and surveyed the crowd with a look of satisfaction. A few songs later singer-guitarist Lars Frederiksen asked for the formation of a circle pit, and some of the contact-craving members of the crowd gladly complied. Subsequent highlights included blistering versions of "Listed M.I.A.," "Tenderloin" and "Knowledge," a song by Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman's late-'80s group, Operation Ivy, which we can largely thank (or is it blame?) for the mid-'90s ska-punk revival.

Perhaps acknowledging that Rancid's members aren't exactly spring chickens anymore, the first two songs of the encore were acoustic. It might not seem like a good idea, but the quiet versions of "Sound System" (another Operation Ivy song) and "Fall Back Down" showed that big hooks are as much a part of the Rancid formula as playing fast and loud. As usual, the fans knew every word, resulting in a sort of punk campfire singalong.

-- David Malitz